Projectiles that travel at extremely high speed provide substantial advantages. The laws of physics provide special advantages to hypervelocity projectiles and, even at sub-hypervelocity levels, every increase in velocity is an increase in range, accuracy, and penetrating power. It would seem that simply placing more charge behind the projectile would result in all the velocity you want. However, the fastest bullets in existence today rarely exceed 5000 feet per second at their maximum point of velocity due to offsetting effects that the current technologies are vulnerable to.
Once extremely high velocities are attained, they can be easier to maintain. However, in the process of reaching high velocities, nature restricts the inventor at every turn. As the typical bullet leaves the typical muzzle, the bullet is traveling faster than the gas which i s supposedly accelerating it. At that point, the gas is expending most of its energy maintaining its own expansion rather than adding velocity to the projectile. Massive, expensive, and involved assemblies of equipment too cumbersome and delicate for general use outside the laboratory have been the solution of choice to overcome these obstacles. Devices to accommodate large ratios of explosive load to payload diameter to maximize velocity, such as Sabots, which have encountered problems both in the barrel and under separation in mid-air, can decrease speed and accuracy as they wobble unsupported by the stability of the barrel at separation. The extremely small payloads currently possible at high speed are also a problem. Explosive charges that initiate gas compression to propel very tiny projectiles a very short distance under laboratory conditions have been the only truly successful means to date. These assemblies, however, are certainly not portable, require much expense, maintenance and setup.
The current invention provides the means to economically acquire the benefits of very high velocities while providing safer munitions. These advantages include minimizing the effects of wind on accuracy, greatly increased range, genuine straight line sighting, smaller individual charges, less volatile charges, larger potential payloads, safer Sabot disposal, further improved accuracy using special Sabot, increased penetrating power (with portable, potentially automatically firing equipment) and little or not special setup or modifications to existing firearms.